DALLAS — The Heart of Dallas Bowl kicks off the sporting New Year on Tuesday, and it's a misnamed matchup.

If anyone had a heart, OSU would not be playing Purdue. OSU would be in a better bowl, befitting a team that tied for third in the Big 12. And Purdue, already cursed by administrators who fired their coach after the regular season, would not be playing a foe so ill-suited for Boilermaker success.

Oklahoma State's Clint Chelf (10) throws a pass during a college football game between Oklahoma State University (OSU) and Texas Tech University (TTU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

The Vegas crowd picks this game as the most lopsided of the bowls. The Cowboys are 17-point favorites, and it would be a surprise if it's closer than that.

The OSU offense, so efficient that it's hummed with three different quarterbacks this season, all of whom have thrown for at least 1,000 yards and recorded at least one victory each over a bowl team, seems a little much for a mediocre Big Ten defense that hasn't seen anything like this.

“We've got our hands full,” admitted Purdue safety Landon Feichter. “They spread it out and they throw the ball. As a DB, it's going to be fun. It's going to be real fun.”

We'll see how long the fun lasts. Purdue's only hope is to stuff the OSU run game. Make the Cowboys one-dimensional, which happens from time to time, and maybe Purdue has a chance.

“This game's going to be won on the offensive and defensive lines,” said Purdue coach Patrick Higgins. “Whoever can create a consistent running game, they're going to have a huge advantage in this game.”

Purdue has a stout defensive line. Kawaan Short is an All-American defensive tackle. The Boilermakers held Ohio State to 152 rushing yards and Notre Dame to 100 less than that. But neither the Buckeyes nor Fighting Irish sport a passing attack anything close to OSU's caliber.

“It's really hard, going against a team that's always passing the ball around,” said Purdue cornerback Ricardo Allen. “But that's what we get our scholarship for.”